New film 'Linsanity' tracks Jeremy Lin's NBA rise

NBA star Jeremy Lin shot to fame just 20 months ago, when overnight he went from a New York Knicks bench warmer, to a sensational guard that led his team to a big winning streak.

Lin's tear through the NBA and the crazy number of fans that rallied behind him, was dubbed “Linsanity.”

But the transformation was years in the making.

Filmmakers of the new documentary "Linsanity" began following Lin in his senior year of Harvard, capturing his rocky pro basketball debut. One of the filmmakers even said they thought they would capture the undramatic end to Lin's NBA career.

"There were so many moments when I feared the same thing," Lin said in an interview on "The Lead with Jake Tapper."

"I thought for sure, you know, my time was coming to an end as a basketball player in the NBA. Little did I know what was actually going to happen," said Lin.

The young athlete was first reluctant about the film, and it took a few tries for the filmmakers to win him over.

"I'm just glad that we had a crew there to capture it all. Now I kind of have this cool little piece that I'll be able to look back on, and just remember the way everything happened," said Lin.

Lin receives a great deal of attention, but never seems as comfortable in the limelight as other NBA stars.

"At first it was really scary, and I kind of tried to run from it," said Lin. "Over time, I've become a lot more comfortable with it. I learned to embrace it."

Lin said he now tries to use his celebrity status in "the way it should be used."

"Whether it's sharing my faith, sharing my stories, sharing my values ... I have such a unique opportunity to do that right now," said Lin.

The average NBA player lasts five years in the league and Lin is starting his fourth although he’s now playing in Houston.

Asked how long he and Linsanity can continue, he said he's not concerned about the end of “Linsanity.”

"If I were to draw it up, by the time my career is done, ‘Linsanity’ would be more of an afterthought," said Lin. "Hopefully there will be a lot more, other things in between ‘Linsanity’ and the end of my career that people will be talking about, or that I can be remembered in terms of basketball."